GhostAccord : 2001 Mazda Tribute

[GhostAccord]

Can't believe that I never saw this "Other Automotive Members Rides" forum before this...... Considering my Acocrd build has kind of stalled out for now, waiting on funds for the engine build. you know life happens!

I have had the opportunity to do some small modifications to my current daily driver. I'm the type of guy that jsut can't leave well enough alone. i even started to modify my wife's Grand AM until she told me to F#@k off...lol

Anywho, here she is the current build;

Here is my 2001 Ford ZETEC powered 5sp 4WD Mazda Tribute DX.



Exterior
- Stock

Interior
- Stock

Audio
- Sony Xplode head unit
- 6 disc CD shuttle
- 2 x Sony 3 way 4s
- 2 x Sony 3 way 6 x 9s
- 2 x Sony 10" subs
- 1000w Kicker amp for subs
- 500w Kenwood amp for 4s and 6 x 9's

This thing actually pounded so hard it broke the hinges for the hatch glass. i'm guessing they were pretty much ready to go though...lol

Suspension
- Stock
- Drop springs and AGX shocks/struts planned

Engine
- 6" K&N cone filter
- 6" - 3" velocity stack
- 70mm Pro-M MAF housing
- Granatelli Motorsports tuned MAF sensor
- Polished 65mm BBK throttle body (stock was 54mm)
- Port matched intake manifold
- 24lb Corvette injectors
- Lvl. 2 Comp Cams
- OBX-R 4-1 equal length header w/Cat delete
- Spark plug defouler for down stream O2 w/no CEL
- Magnaflow exhaust
- EGR and EVAP systems removed,

Ongoing work
- Port, polish and mill spare ZETEC Head
- +1mm exhaust valves

A few options that I have previously run to see if they work. However, I have since removed them until I get some head porting done and the MS3 up and running
- COP conversion
- GSX-R/ Focus SVT individual throttle body intake manifold
- 2 stage fuel injection system

With the current mods this 5 speed 2.0L Tribute is pretty fun to drive in any and all weather conditions. Really fun in the snow when you push that 4WD button.

On to some pics;

OBX-R Focus ZETEC ram horn header and modified down pipe to fit.



Spark plug de-fouler installed on the secondary O2 to help with the insufficient catalyst CEL.



Cams installed,



COP harness



Cut up an old coil so that I could use the connector. Didn't want to have to modify the stock engine harness if I didn't have to.



This is not going to be any sort of show car or high Hp build. These are parts I had lying around from anther build that I have ongoing. If it doesn't work I put everything back and run her stock.

The exterior needs some minor body work and paint.

Plan on lowering it on some H&R springs and AGX struts/shocks.

[GhostAccord]

65mm BBK throttle body

Here is the work I did on the 65mm BBK throttle body

Bought this beast used and she was a wee bit worse for wear when it arrived.


There was a black sealant type substance around the back side of the throttle plate and the throttle bore. This crap is put on there from the factory to solve sloppy machining issues. I fixed all that!

The return spring was there but the tension was non existent. kind of looked like someone had tried to add tension but to no avail. The throttle cable pin was loose and the entire throttle cable and cruise plate was worn and wobbling on the throttle shaft as well.



Then there was the actual fabrication/design of the inlet. It's been a while since I have seen casting flaws and lack of detail in a product.

So I decided to give her a full make over.

Welded the throttle cable pin to the shaft plate and also welded the plate to the shaft. No more wobble, no more inaccurate TPS readings. Replaced the old tired spring and keeper with the one from my OEM TB. While I had the throttle plate and shaft removed from the TB I decided to tap the shaft for a larger set of brass low profile screws.

Also with the internals removed I proceeded to port and polish those ugly casting flaws and that awful machined lip from the inlet. Clean off all of that sealant and polish it.

So after a couple hours work on the tb and port matching the intake. Here it is installed. It is working beautifully.



Unlike the OEM TB that uses an o-ring to seal to the intake manifold. This BBK throttle body has a flat mating surface. So I made my own gasket from a sheet of Felpro gasket material.

No more nasty machine ridge or casting flaws on the walls of this throttle body inlet



Swapped the stock TPS sensor over from the OEM TB. Had to go pick up a couple M4 x 0.70 x 12mm screws to mount it. Couldn't be bothered looking for tq head or hex head screws..... Just wanted to get it done and this is all the local hardware had for metric!



No leaks as of yet, love the throttle response.

Once I added the 24lb injectors and this bad boy she work right up

6" - 3" velocity stack,


6" K&N filter over the stack,


Pro-M housing and GMS MAF,

[Jarrett]

I've seen this thing mentioned occasionally on your blog and was always curious about it. This is one of those odd projects that you have to like just because of how unique it is.

[GhostAccord]

I've seen this thing mentioned occasionally on your blog and was always curious about it. This is one of those odd projects that you have to like just because of how unique it is.

Thanks! She definitely turns some heads when I drive by. Most people are looking for a little Civic or ricer... not an SUV...lol

These may look familiar to some of you! I chopped the F22 intake flange off and replaced it with an SVT intake flange.

Here is my 2001 GSX-R1000/1300 Throttle bodies mounted to an SVT lower intake manifold.



Here is my air box design... not much design to it. I am using the stock GSX-R air box. This is it with velocity stacks installed.



Side view of the modified 3" port that I added to incorporate the CAI that I have now.



View from the front of the engine bay.



Complete with vacuum lines, MAP and IAC ports.



Almost looks like they were built for this intake and engine. I actually had them running on this engine for a day this summer.

The first try was a bit screwed up as I had the TPS sensor wires crossed. So the ECU was seeing 80% throttle at idle when they were actually closed. Wouldn't start without giving it a shot with the gas pedal. And it fired up with a TPS CEL and reverted to MAF only and wouldn't idle without giving the throttle a few snaps every now and then.

After switching the wires the GSXR TPS is @ 19.2% and will not go further than 70% based on the Ford voltage scalar. Therefore a custom calibration will be necessary in order for them to run properly.

The second start up after the TPS wires were fixed was actually quite surprising.

Zetec/SVT Individual Throttle Bodies


I have to pimp out the video considering this is running off a completely stock ECU and all the stock sensors. Only things that are missing are the EGR and EVAP systems.

Here are a couple shoots of the live data on my scan tool.... No CEL... however it will come on for the DPFE and EGR as they have both been removed. For those who say that the stock ECU will not idle over 700-850RPM... here it is @ 1200 RPM. The IAC is hooked up and running. In case anyone is wondering, the IAC valve is pretty much completely closed at idle @ these RPMs.



As you can see it was running a bit on the warm side and the ECU is really attacking the fuel trims....



19.2% throttle and a really good IAT and flow reading from the MAF. It's quite obvious that the 4 throttles suck air much faster than a single throttle body. The 65mm throttle body @ 1000RPM was reading @ 2.8 g/s.

The placement of the velocity stack out of the engine bay probably helped a bit with the temps. The velocity stack actually fits up there with the hood closed. However I will be changing the CAI tube to tuck it back in behind the battery with an air box and hood vent.



And here is how they sit now with a set of GSXR 240cc fuel injectors and fuel rail in a top feed / shower top arrangement.

Little bit rough as they sit right now. I will get around to coating them before they go into use.

[GhostAccord]

Here is the port work that I am currently undertaking on a 70k km 2004 2.0L Zetec long block that I found complete with transmission and wiring harness for $200. I couldn't pass it up! I figure I can rebuild it and still have my tribute on the road to cruise around in.

Really need to port match the Zetec head to the SVT ITB intake manifold. There was quite a difference in port design between the two.

The black paint around the intake port is the outline of the SVT port opening


Ported to match the intake and also removed all the casting flaws and narrowed the dividing wall.


Cleaned up the bowls and blended them into the valves seats.
before;


after;


and 3 angle valve job on the intake completed


Exhaust ports being redesigned for a new header design.

Old small port


and the new slightly larger oval port design, F22 owners will recognize this port design...lol


Polished the exhaust port surface to keep temps up in the exhaust gasses and lower in the cylinder head.

Haven't finished the exhaust valve job yet as I am waiting for the 90mm 70° bowl hog to open up the throat and seat for the +1mm (30mm) valves.

Here is the head pictured on top of my DIY flow bench....that I am currently calibrating and making sure all the sensors are reading properly.



Using an Innovate motorsports AUX Box, Ford V6 MAF sensor, and 2 MAP sensors. The MAF is good up to 550CFM and it is complete with a built in IAT sensor. I will not be able to get 100% accurate CFM numbers. However, I will be able to see the difference in flow between stock heads and my port work and that's really all that matters!

[GhostAccord]

Finally got around to mocking up a set of Honda K series coils with my aluminum ZETEC valve cover and spare cylinder head. Took me a little while to get everything lined up, cut out and drilled on the brass cover plate.... Thankfully first one worked out.

[lucifer1]

I like it. People give very odd and diverse reactions to a modified mini suv. Especially when modifying the engine.

[GhostAccord]

I find it funny when people come up and tell me that I should get a tune up because my engine doesn't sound quite right. I don't have the heart to explain the lopey cams and performance mods. These are the people that think an SUV should sound like a sewing machine or some soccer mom mobile. Then I push the AWD button and fly the f#@k out of there hitting 6200RPM shifts. Thing is though, it is pretty mild mannered if I can manage to stay off the throttle. It is actually a decent daily driver...thus far. Things may change a little bit once I drop in the 87mmx88mm engine with the individual throttles.

[STREET-SPEC]

I fell in love with the tribute when my mom bought one. It had the auto v6 with 200 hp! I smoked a lot of civics with it.

I'll keep an eye out for the rare parts in the junkyard, like the rear flush mount spoiler.
Good luck and have fun with it.

[GhostAccord]

I fell in love with the tribute when my mom bought one. It had the auto v6 with 200 hp! I smoked a lot of civics with it.

I'll keep an eye out for the rare parts in the junkyard, like the rear flush mount spoiler.
Good luck and have fun with it.

Thanks!

It is a surprisingly sporty little beast.... I think the suspension in the Tribute is much stiffer than in it's Ford counterpart, Escape. The Escape feels loose and not quite as fun to drive on the back roads as the Tribute.

[GhostAccord]

Just installed these little babies on the old beast.

H&R 2" drop springs


KYB Excel-G struts & shocks


After the install I took it in for a 4 wheel alignment. She doesn't like potholes at all but it handles like it's on rails. Steering response is much better than the 13 year old setup for sure...... can't keep my foot off the floor even around corners now. Absolutely zero body roll now.

I also like the fact that it's now low and fast. I am doing the complete opposite to most of the 4WD SUV/Trucks in my area. Most go for a lift and big lug tires and never even go off road... I don't see the rationalization of that.... I'd rather stiffen up the suspension and go for low and fast if it's never going to see the mud!

I'll see about posting a few pics once this storm passes by.

[cb9love]

makes me want to do a crv . you know when the wife gets tired of her b20 swapped 2000 civic ex coupe . great work man.

[GhostAccord]

Thanks..... A CR-V would be sweet!

This thing is a complete blast to drive, it now handles like a small car. Unfortunately, the roads here are full of frost heaves and small car swallowing potholes. So the spirited driving will have to be kept to a minimum for at least another month or two. Have to wait until we get rid of the 3' of snow on the ground.

Just ordered a set of over sized intake and exhaust valves along with a few new seat cutters and bowl hogs. Had to buy these parts and tools in order to finish off the spare 2.0L head I have on my bench. The new head, ITB's and MegaSquirt should be going in as soon as I finish this 70 hour/week shutdown.

[GhostAccord]

I have been working 7/10's for the past 2 months, not much time to do anything but work. In that time the +1mm intake and exhaust valves came in along with my LW flywheel and clutch kit. With the addition to +1mm OS valves my previous valve job and porting was slightly inadequate....



Now that the shutdown is over and I am back to working 4/10's, compressed work weeks are well worth it. 3 day weekends are sweet!

Not able to do any work outside, as it has been raining, I decided to go down to the garage for a few hours.

Hogged out the valve seats/throat so that they would both be a 90% valve to seat ratio with the new valves. The old Ford ratio was 75% on the exhaust and 85% on the intake. IMO that is really week! Probably a good reason why Focus guys don't see much power out of bolt on mods.

Also took the time to polish the combustion chamber and valve faces!



Intake ports ready to go!


and the exhaust ports

Still need a bit of polish work to clean them up.....

As far as the valve job and seat angles go. I decided to try a 4 angle on the intake and 3 angle on the exhaust. Once I get my flow bench calibrated we'll see if it makes any difference. Would be nice to have a CNC machine to do the porting and a true radius valve job...but purchasing a CNC machine is not in the budget.

[GhostAccord]

Just picked this one up for my wife tonight...... she was very happy to say the least!



Going to start driving her old Grand Am until I get the engine and clutch put into the Tribute. Then it might be time to sell a vehicle or two.... So I can pick up my S2k and finish off the Accord!